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ODRAZ B92, Belgrade Daily News Service
Odraz B92 vesti (by 12 midnight), February 16, 1997
E-mail: odrazb92@b92.opennet.org, beograd@siicom.com
WWW: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/, http://www.opennet.org/b92/
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All texts are Copyright 1997 Radio B92. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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NEWS BY 12 MIDNIGHT
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PROTESTS SUSPENDED
Zajedno leaders Vuk Draskovic and Zoran Djindjic told Radio B92 on
Sunday that protest rallies against the November election fraud
had finished on Saturday, but that demonstrations would resume on
March 9 if the Serbian government failed to liberate the media by
that date.
Mr Draskovic said that the suspension of protests was intended to
show that Zajedno was prepared enter a dialogue with the
government, although he did not believe that it would have a
positive outcome.
``Milosevic has committed himself to developing the media, to
passing a new electoral law, to providing fully democratic
conditions for the forthcoming elections. We are prepared to
negotiate, although we already know that nothing will come of it.
After that we shall have the right, according to the Gonzalez
report, to struggle in the streets for the implementation of the
basic part of that report,'' said Mr Draskovic.
Mr Djindjic noted that other forms of protest were still
continuing, the student protest, the evening noise protest at the
media blockade and the strikes.
DIFFICULT YEAR AHEAD
In an interview with Radio Index on Sunday, Zoran Djindjic said
that he was ready for a difficult year, as the ruling Socialist
Party of Serbia seemed inclined to escalate political tension, and
the recognition of local election results had achieved victory in
only the first phase of Zajedno's struggle.
Mr Djindjic went on to say that the cause of the political crisis
was Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's policy which could
obviously not be changed. He predicted that there would be a wave
of social protest in the spring, provoked by the regime's
willingness to free the media and introduce democratisation. He
also predicted that a political solution would appear before the
presidential elections in the form of President Milosevic's
resignation, or perhaps the disintegration of his party.
Mr Djindjic said that candidacies for posts in the Belgrade City
Assembly would be discussed by Zajedno in the next few days. He
said that his party favoured constituting the city governments
with officials from all Zajedno parties, to encourage mutual
control and responsibility. He stressed that there would be no
sackings on the ground of party membership, only on the basis of
competence.
Asked about the future of formerly independent Belgrade radio and
television Studio B, now under the control of the city government,
Mr Djindjic said that his intention was that Studio B should once
again be independent. He planned to call together a number of
independent Belgrade journalists and seek their advice on how to
resolve the issue of the broadcaster.
87TH STUDENT PROTEST
About 15,000 students and citizens marched through Belgrade on
Sunday, protesting against state media. Student leaders announced
a rally of support for striking teachers in front of the Serbian
Government building on Monday.
JOKSIMOVIC DEFECTS
Democratic Party of Serbia deputy-elect to the Belgrade City
Assembly Aleksandra Joksimovic has resigned from the party to join
Zoran Djindjic's Democratic Party. The Democratic Party announced
this defection on Sunday, adding that this brought Zajedno to its
69th seat in the City Assembly.
RHEN IN BELGRADE
The UN Special Envoy for Human Rights, Elizabeth Rhen paid a
brief, unofficial visit to Belgrade on Saturday. Ms Rhen met
Zajedno leader Vesna Pesic and several of the demonstrators who
were injured in the violent police action of February 2.
NIS PROTESTS
The Vice President of the Serbian Renewal Movement, Milan
Komnenic, addressed the 91st Zajedno protest rally in Nis on
Sunday, saying that the coalition had called a halt to
demonstrations as a gesture of goodwill, and to allow space for a
dialogue with the government.
Mr Komnenic said that Zajedno would insist on the replacement of
the Serbian Ministers for the Interior and Justice, as well as the
Speaker of the Parliament.
Vice President of the Nis City Government Aleksandar Krstic
announced that protests in Nis would continue until all city
assemblies in Serbia had been constituted. He said that legal
action was underway against members of the Nis Electoral
Commission who had been responsible for the electoral fraud.
TEACHERS STRIKE
The Serbian government announced on Sunday that it had signed an
agreement with the Republic Council of the Teachers' Trade Union,
which represents striking teachers.
However, the Vice President of the Republic Council for Education
and chief negotiator for the teachers, Jagos Bulatovic, told Radio
B92 that he was shocked by the news of this agreement. He said
that the strikes would continue until authorised negotiators had
signed an agreement with the government.
POLITIKA STRIKE
Part time employees of Radio Television Politika on Sunday
continued their strike for overdue wages and a clarification of
their employment status. BK Television reported on Sunday that
Politika director Hadzi Dragan Antic had told the strikers that he
did not wish to negotiate with them and that he had reorganised
radio and television programs to function without them.
VUKOVAR PROTESTS
Citizens in Vukovar have been protesting for more than ten days
over the situation in the regions of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and
Western Srem. About 10,000 people on Sunday demanded that UNTAES
and the international community provide protection for Serbs
living in the region.
The UN Transition Administrator for Eastern Slavonia, Jacques
Klein, told Radio B92 that the people had a right to protest.
However Mr Klein added that these matters could only be sorted out
between Croatia and Yugoslavia, and that Belgrade and Zagreb must
address this problem as soon as possible.
In an interview with Reuters, Mr Klein predicted that up to 20,000
of Eastern Slavonia's 120,000 Serbs would flee the region once
Croat control were established. Mr Klein described the potential
refugees as Serb nationalists, some of them war criminals who
simply could not live in a Catholic Croat state. He said that most
of the Serbs would remain.
MOSTAR BOMBINGS
SFOR reported another two explosions in the Muslim sector of Most
on Saturday night, according to FoNet.
ARBOUR GETS SERIOUS
Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald has instructed the governments of
Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to file
evidential materials relevant to the Blackic case with the Hague
War Crimes Tribunal by February 19. Croatian army General Blackic
has been indicted for crimes against Muslim civilians in central
Bosnia.
In the event of failure to meet this demand, Judge McDonald has
summoned the two countries' defence ministers to appear before the
Hague Tribunal on February 19 and explain their governments'
actions.
These summonses represent an important change in the strategy of
Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour, who has now turned to formal legal
instruments in order to force Croatia, Bosnia and Yugoslavia to
obey the Tribunal's instructions.
Prepared by: Marija Milosavljevic
Edited by: Steve Agnew
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ODRAZ B92, Belgrade Daily News Service
E-mail: odrazb92@b92.opennet.org, beograd@siicom.com
WWW: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/, http://www.opennet.org/b92/
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